Kuronawa and Mizu no Eau

Lunch at New Furusato in Lisboa Hotel, Macau.

Mizu no Eau Daiginjo Light (水の王 大吟醸ライト) - we were treated to a bottle of this sake, which was meant to pair well with food due to its lighter flavor profile.  I had drunk a bottle of this a couple of years ago... It was indeed light on the palate at first, but very lovely and fragrant like fermented rice (酒釀).  Later on the palate became a little stronger, and for some reason the phrase "コクがある" popped into my head... Interesting when tasted with sea urchin. 

Kuronawa Daiginjo (黒縄 大吟醸) - this is made by the Takagi Brewery (高木酒造)from Yamagata Prefecture (山形県), maker of the famed Juyondai (十四代) brand.  I thought I had a pretty good grasp of most of the Juyondai range, but I had never seen this before.  Apparently (according to one source) Kuronawa was the brand name the brewery used within Yamagata, while in the old days Juyondai was the brand name used for koshu (古酒) sold outside the home prefecture.  Anyway, as I had the opportunity to taste something that I thought was out of the ordinary, I went for it and ordered a bottle.  Later on I realized this probably wasn't as much of a bargain as some of the other selections, but never mind...

This was much drier and spicier, very full-bodied with a very long finish.  Interestingly, the spicy mid-palate led to a sweet finish, in what the Chinese would call 囘甘.  Seimaibuai (精米歩合) of 35%.

Full post on lunch is here.